Not so Novel Race Jitters

I have raced now for over five years of my life. I have run four half marathons and numerous shorter runs.

Why the heck then am I so nervous about tomorrow’s half marathon? I know why… normally I would have already done one half in addition to at least one 12k by now. And there’s the part where I have yet to have raced since I was sick for so long this spring, why I missed my other races.

Time to remember why I run these darn things… because I love to run. Running to me equals sheer joy. I love the freedom that comes with having two legs that just move. I have felt the most joy, felt the most free, and seen the most beautiful things in life while running. The picture is of me getting ready for an 11 mile run along the Costa del Sol in the South of Spain.

The races started as a way for me to build my mileage. They were nothing more than a number to work towards, which would give me inspiration to make running a bigger priority in my life. Somewhere along the way, however, I started really caring about my speed. I have steadily improved my speed over the years and somehow my short “not built for speed” body has gotten faster. It has taken fairly intense training programs with weights, speed work, hill work, and distance work.

Tomorrow I need to forget about speed. I need to focus on the run, on the beauty of the movement and the beauty of the race – 25,000 people gathered together to run. This spring I haven’t been able to train the way I wanted to, but there is one thing I know for sure. I am so thankful I can still run.